The case involves a legal dispute between the Italian football club US Città di Palermo and FIFA, adjudicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The conflict arose from the club's failure to comply with a 2015 CAS Consent Award, which required Palermo to pay €1,000,000 to player agent Horacio Luis Rolla as part of a settlement agreement. The club missed the March 2016 payment deadline, prompting Rolla to notify FIFA of the non-payment in 2016 and 2017. FIFA's Disciplinary Committee initiated proceedings in 2018, ordering the club to settle the debt. Palermo cited financial difficulties and claimed to have negotiated a payment plan with the agent, including a partial payment of €200,000 in September 2018, but failed to provide concrete evidence of a formal agreement. FIFA rejected these arguments and imposed sanctions, including a CHF 30,000 fine and a 90-day ultimatum for full payment, with the threat of a six-point deduction in the Italian league and potential relegation if the debt remained unpaid.
Palermo appealed to CAS in January 2019, contesting the sanctions and arguing that FIFA Circular Letter No. 1628, issued in May 2018, was applied retrospectively to its detriment. The club claimed the circular prevented an amicable resolution by discouraging the agent from confirming a payment plan. FIFA maintained that financial difficulties did not excuse non-compliance and that the circular merely clarified existing disciplinary procedures. A three-member CAS panel was convened, and the case was resolved through written submissions without a hearing. The panel confirmed its jurisdiction under Article R47 of the CAS Code and Article 58(1) of the FIFA Statutes, as the appeal was filed within the 21-day deadline.
In its October 2019 ruling, the CAS panel dismissed Palermo's appeal, upholding FIFA's disciplinary measures. The panel emphasized that financial hardship does not absolve clubs of their payment obligations under CAS awards and found no evidence of a formal payment plan between the club and the agent. It also ruled that FIFA Circular Letter No. 1628 did not retroactively alter the disciplinary code but simply clarified its application. The decision reinforced the enforceability of CAS awards and the importance of adhering to financial commitments in professional football. The case underscores the strict consequences of non-compliance with arbitration rulings and the limited grounds for challenging disciplinary sanctions in sports-related disputes. The CAS panel concluded that FIFA's sanctions were proportional given the club's prolonged failure to meet its obligations.